14+ Amazing Slow Cooker Recipes

14 amazing slow cooker recipes for a delicious and easy dinner!

Hey, we are in the last days of August! Thursday brings September, and September means fall, right!? Cool crisp mornings and chilly evening strolls are just around the corner.

If I lie hard enough to myself, maybe it will become true…

Anyway, this long, hot August, the recipe theme on the blog was slow cooker recipes so that our ovens might stay off and our kitchens might stay slightly cooler. The recipes I posted were:

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches for Two

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Fajitas for Two

A Few More Baking Mischief Slow Cooker Recipes

• Slow Cooker Beef Ribs
• Crispy Slow Cooker Carnitas
• Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Sandwiches
• Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes With Broccoli and Cheese Sauce

Some Recipes From Friends

And since the heat’s probably going to be sticking with us a while longer, and you know I like to end my monthly recipe series with a round up, I asked some blogger friends for slow cooker recommendations of their own.

They all look amazing, and I know I will be putting them to good use over the coming weeks…

Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken from Platings and Pairings

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Joy In Every Season

5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Sriracha Chicken from Leelalicious

Slow Cooker Chili Lime Beef Tacos With Mango Salsa from TheFitBlog

Slow Cooked Sirloin Tips with Mushrooms from The Foodie Affair

Crockpot Mexican Beef In Masa Cups from Honest and Truly

Simple Slow Cooker Pho from Homemade and Yummy

The Best Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili from A Side of Sweet

Slow Cooker Chinese Pulled Beef from Supergolden Bakes

Slow Cooker Sweet ‘n Tangy Glazed Chicken Wings from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Crock-Pot BBQ Pork Ribs from The Rising Spoon

Cupcake-shaped dog popsicles made with chicken broth and a pureed tuna frosting. Simple to make and your dog is going to LOVE them!

I had two birthdays in my family last week, my sister, Caroline’s and my dog, Ella’s. Since I like to use real-life events as blog fodder, like when I made Victoria Sponge Cupcakes for my youngest sister’s birthday, or my mom’s favorite Copycat Carmela’s Chicken for hers, I was going to recreate Caroline’s favorite champagne cupcakes from one of our local bakeries and post it to the blog.

But when I asked her what she liked so much about those CHAMPAGNE cupcakes, she told me that she liked that they didn’t taste like champagne, which…????? Isn’t that just a vanilla cupcake ?

That’s clearly a mystery and a project for another day, so instead I made some birthday cupcake shaped dog popsicles for Ella!

I love the idea of dog birthday cupcakes, because what better way to celebrate another year with your best friend? But I’ve never actually made any before because most cupcake-sized treats are way too much treat for a dog Ella’s size.

So I thought about ways to get bulk without lots of calories and too-rich things that might cause upset tummies and thought cupcake dog popsicles with a chicken broth base would be the perfect way to go. It’s easy. It’s healthy. And it’s not going to spoil dinner.

We start with a can of chicken broth frozen into cupcake shapes in a cupcake pan. Then the chicken broth gets topped off with a pureed tuna and cauliflower frosting.

I know, it sounds totally disgusting (it is!), but it’s simple to make, you can kind of pipe it, and dogs go crazy for it. Ella’s been taste testing these things for the last couple weeks and the frosting is definitely her favorite part.

I actually had to end the photo shoot for these early, because my model was literally starting to drool while staring at the cupcakes, and that is so not cute!

But they are definitely dog-tested and approved, so if you want a drool-worthy treat that’s also going to help your best friend cool down on a hot day, give these a try!

Some notes before we begin:

• You can use any type of broth you like, but use low-sodium if you can.
• Cauliflower makes some dogs gassy. There’s not much of it here, but heads up if you have a dog with a sensitive stomach.
• You can also replace the cauliflower with potatoes for a smoother “frosting,” but potatoes must be peeled, as potato sprouts are toxic to dogs.
• Always supervise your dog when feeding them frozen treats, and consult your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns about the ingredients.

More Dog Treat Recipes

• High-Value Dog Treats
• 2-ingredient Pupsicles (3 ways)
• Watermelon and Yogurt Frozen Dog Treats (Pupsicles)
• Easy Horse and Dog Gingerbread Treats

Birthday Cupcake Dog Popsicles with Tuna Frosting

Ingredients

• Foil Cupcake Liners
• 2 cups ( 1 14.5-ounce can) low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups ( 8 oz) chopped cauliflower
• 1 5-ounce can tuna in water do not drain
• Sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Line your cupcake pan with 6 foil cupcake liners. Fill liners most of the way full, and freeze solid, at least 2 hours.
• Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Add chopped cauliflower, and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drain and rinse cooked cauliflower with cold water until it is no longer hot to the touch (it can be warm). Transfer cauliflower to your food processor. Add canned tuna, liquid and all, and process until well combined and smooth.
• Transfer mixture to to a piping bag and pipe onto your frozen cupcakes. Sprinkle with optional sprinkles, and if you are going to use a birthday candle, make the hole for it, but do not freeze the candle with the cupcakes (you won’t be able to get it out once frozen).
• Immediately return cupcakes to the freezer and freeze for at least 45 minutes before giving to your dog and two hours before transferring to a freezer bag for storage.
• Always supervise your dog when feeding them frozen treats.

Notes

Pink Cream Puffs filled with a rich vanilla pastry cream. So cute and delicious you’ll want to keep them all to yourself.

I have another fun and nerdy recipe for you today, Jigglypuff Pink Cream Puffs! A bunch of fellow bloggers are putting together a month of Pokemon-inspired recipes, and I definitely didn’t want to miss out on all the geeky fun.

The recipe linkup is being hosted by The Gluttonous Geek . There are some really great ones in there, and you should absolutely head on over to check them all out.

Have you been playing Pokemon Go? I have not let myself start because I was pretty obsessed with the Game Boy version as a kid, and it’s a slippery slope when it comes to me and Pokemon games, but it is sooooo tempting.

Anyways, given my childhood obsession, when #PokeNOM month was announced, I knew I wanted to participate and Jigglypuffs and pink cream puffs immediately popped into my head.

I mean Jigglypuff is basically a sentient pink cream puff right? Put them next to each other and there’s no telling which is which. 😉

Have you ever made cream puffs from scratch? It’s easier than you might think, and SO satisfying. Your eggy, wet pâte à choux dough goes into the oven and these perfect fluffy puff balls come out half an hour later. I think it might be magic.

The pastries bake up hollow, leaving plenty of space for fillings. Some people like a simple whipped cream filling in their cream puffs, but not today. Not in these cream puffs. We are making a fantastically rich, gloriously creamy pastry cream for our pink cream puffs, so when you bite into them, you are met with a perfect, sinful center.

And guess what, if you keep cream in your fridge for coffee, you probably have all of the ingredients to make these. The great thing about these pink cream puffs is that they are made with simple kitchen staples. These fancy pastries do not require fancy ingredients!

They do however require a couple of notes:

• This pâte à choux recipe is simple and easy, but it’s not necessarily forgiving. Make sure to follow the instructions as written and measure your flour correctly, preferably with a scale. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and sweep method . (Use a scoop to drop flour into your measuring cup and then the flat side of a butter knife to sweep off the excess. This way your flour won’t become compressed and you won’t end up with too much.)
• You will also need a couple tools. Both the pâte à choux and pastry cream need to be piped. The former works best using a 5/8-inch plain tip *, but you get away with using a large plastic bag with the corner snipped off. For the pastry cream, you need a piping bag with about a 1/8-inch plain tip *. Filling the cream puffs requires you to make a small hole in the bottom and pipe cream in. Without a sturdy tip, filling them is going to be difficult.
• The final thing you need is a fine mesh strainer. While making the custard for the pastry cream, sometimes bits of egg get overcooked and running the cream through the strainer will make sure that you don’t get solid eggy bits in your pastry cream. They are super cheap on Amazon *, but you can also find them in the baking aisle in most grocery stores.

More Easy Desserts

• No-bake Cheesecake Bites
• Giant S’mores Cookie
• Small-batch Lemon Pound Cake
• Small-batch Lemon Cookies With Strawberry Frosting

You can find all of my nerdy recipes by clicking here .

Ingredients

Pastry Cream

• ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage
• ▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 4 large egg yolks
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pate A Choux

• ▢ 1/2 cup water
• ▢ 1/4 cup ( 2 oz) unsalted butter diced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 to 3 drops red food coloring
• ▢ 2 large eggs

Egg Wash

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Pastry Cream

• In a medium saucepan, heat milk and cream until just before simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. SLOWLY drizzle in hot cream mixture, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs.
• Continue whisking and pouring until all of the liquid is incorporated. You can speed up the pouring as you go and the temperature of your eggs is brought up.
• Transfer egg mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 to 6 minutes. It’s ready when it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Whisk vigorously until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
• Place your strainer over a medium bowl and strain pastry cream, using your whisk to push the mixture through.
• Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least an hour.

Pate a Choux

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Have your flour measured out and ready to go. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as the butter is melted and the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir until flour is incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a thin film over the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 4 minutes, until no longer hot to the touch. Add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring and your first egg. Use your wooden spoon to work the egg and coloring into the dough until completely mixed. It will seem slow going at first, but it will come together. Repeat with the second egg.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch tip. Pipe 14 1 1/2-inch mounds at least 1 inch apart. Once finished, use a little water on your fingertip to pat down any tips that are sticking up from piping so you have smooth rounds (otherwise the tips sticking up will burn).
• In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and brush gently over the pate a choux.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Do not open the oven. At 25 minutes, check the puffs. They should be lightly browned. If not, cook for an additional 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before filling.

Filling the Puffs

• Use a chop stick or small, sharp knife to poke a small hole in the bottom of each cream puff. Transfer your cooled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round tip (if the cream has firmed up too much in the fridge, you can whisk it for about 30 seconds until it is smooth and the right consistency for piping.
• Fill each of the cream puffs with a generous amount of pastry cream. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Pate a choux adapted from Martha Stewart Pastry Cream Adapted From TheKitchn